QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Wildomar, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Wildomar in the 24 hours to 7:27 am PST (15:27 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 18 km (11 mi) ESE, at 3:31 am PDT on 5 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Wildomar

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south of Wildomar, CA, at 12:16 am PDT on 17 May 2019 (07:16 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 8km S of Wildomar, CA

11 km (7 mi) WSW of Murrieta, CA · 117 km (72 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

12:16 am PDT, May 17, 2019 · · 18 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 47 kmSan Diego County 74 kmLos Angeles County 116 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
12:16 am PDT on 17 May 2019 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) south of Wildomar, CA · earthquakes near Wildomar
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 47 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Elsinore fault, 7 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2690 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Wildomar, 8 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Murrieta, Sedco Hills, Lakeland Village, Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2018-08-15 — about 9,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 40 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 21 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 38 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 27 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 Near Lake Elsinore, California · 21 km NNW of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 33.5295, -117.2953. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 47 km (30 mi) WNW earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 74 km (46 mi) SE earthquakes near San Diego County
Los Angeles County, CA 116 km (72 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Riverside County, CA 122 km (76 mi) E earthquakes near Riverside County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

43 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  2. 1.5 13km WNW of Anza, CA
  3. 1.8 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  4. 1.8 10km NE of Aguanga, CA
  5. 1.6 2km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  6. 1.5 8km ENE of Aguanga, CA
  7. 1.7 15km NNW of Aguanga, CA
  8. 1.6 4km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  9. 1.6 14km WNW of Anza, CA
  10. 1.7 12km SSE of Valle Vista, CA
  11. 1.5 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  12. 1.9 3km NNW of Corona, CA
  13. 1.6 14km WNW of Anza, CA
  14. 1.6 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  15. 1.5 9km NE of Aguanga, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.